


An (Un)Expected Visitor

by i_write_and_i_know_things



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: BBC Sherlock - Freeform, Christmas Fluff, Cute, Dancing, Developing Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Fairy Lights, Fluff, Gen, Happy, Holidays, Holly - Freeform, John Watson is a Saint, Johnlock - Freeform, Johnlock Party, M/M, Mary Ships It, Mrs. Hudson Ships It, Mycroft Being Mycroft, Mycroft is a Bit Not Good, One Shot, POV John Watson, Sherlock Being Sherlock, Sherlock Fluff, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson Friendship, Sherlock Holmes Has Feelings, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson Fluff, Sherlock Likes to Dance, Slow Dancing, Snow, Sweaters, Waltzing, happy holidays!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 10:38:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_and_i_know_things/pseuds/i_write_and_i_know_things
Summary: John Watson and Mary are hosting a Holiday Party on Christmas Eve. Everyone has already arrived, but Sherlock stayed behind in his flat. John doesn't want to leave his guests, but he also won't allow Sherlock to spend the evening alone.They will spend the evening together.





	An (Un)Expected Visitor

John walked into the kitchen, placing a tray of fresh-from-the-oven lemon scones in the middle of the dinner table. It was Christmas Eve and him and Mary were hosting a small party for a few of their friends as a way to bring them closer for the holidays. Molly and Greg had already arrived and were in the other room playing with Rosie, showing her a new baby rattle. John smiled softly to himself when he heard her giggle with joy.

He heard a knock at the door frame and saw Mary standing in it, shaking her head and sighing. She walked up to John and brushed a quick kiss on his cheek, straightening the collar of his shirt and fixing his sweater.

“Rosie is quite the entertainer,” She said with a smile. “She won’t stop doing air tricks with her new rattle. Molly and Greg can’t sit for more than a second before having to walk across the room!”

John chuckled softly and returned the kiss.

“I’m sure our little acrobat means well. Shall we get started soon?” He asked, pointing at the dinner table cluttered with food. There were cakes, dumplings, ham, soup… anything one could imagine. Mary laughed and looked up at him in mock disbelief.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

John tensed slightly, shifting his gaze to look out the window. Snowflakes gently dotted the window as they fell from the sky.

“Come on, John. I know that look,” Mary started, crossing her arms. “Stop pretending, I can see right through you. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

John grimaced and looked back at her, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sure Sherlock is fine, he’s probably spending his Christmas Eve with Mrs. Hudson…”

Mary stared at John. Her eyes held the ‘you stupid bloke’ look and it was enough for John to feel guilty. Almost on cue, the doorbell rang. He moved to go answer it but Mary held up her hand to stop him and walked over to answer it herself.

She opened the door and greeted Mrs. Hudson, who stood in the doorway with her hands full of gifts. Mrs. Hudson showered Mary with a few kisses on the cheek before stepping in, shivering from the cold.

“Oh, it’s so cold outside!” She exclaimed, taking off her shoes and walking over to the living room to set down her gifts by the Christmas tree. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be spending this evening alone. Mary, dear, where is Rosie?”

Mary pointed Mrs. Hudson to Rosie and she walked over eagerly, cooing at the little baby. Mary looked over her shoulder and shot John a triumphant glance.

“You were saying?”

John shook his head in embarrassment and began to rearrange the plates on the table. He heard the floor creak as Mary walked up to him again, placing a hand on his.

“You should go to him. He shouldn’t have to spend Christmas Eve alone.”

“But our guests?” John questioned. “Don’t you think it’d be rude if I left? And… maybe Mycroft is with him and he’s not alone?”

Mary let out a laugh. She looked back at John with amusement.

“ _Mycroft?_ John, that’s ridiculous, he never leaves his office. Besides,” She said, taking her hand off of Johns and walking to the coat rack to grab his coat. “I think we can handle it here by ourselves. I’ll make sure to save you some scones, though.” 

Defeated, John took the coat from her and threw it on, zipping it up to his neck. He kissed Mary before stepping out the door and into the frigid air.

John walked along the street, huddling close in his coat and blinking against the snowflakes. It was quiet and all the lights in the apartments and houses were turned on, illuminating the outlines of people laughing and eating together at the dinner table. He rolled his eyes but kept walking, looking at the fairy lights delicately strung on the trees.

Finally, he stood in front of a wooden door labeled 221B. His breath crystalized in front of him as he reached out and placed his hand on the doorknob, turning it and stepping inside.

Immediately he felt warmer, and he rubbed his hands together to get rid of the frostiness on his fingers. He began making his way upstairs, surprised at how quiet everything was. Usually Sherlock was making a lot of noise either pacing the floors or throwing things at the walls. John couldn’t help but smile to himself when he remembered waking up in Sherlock’s flat every day and finding something new splattered on the wall.

Getting to the top of the stairs, he hesitated in front of the door to Sherlocks flat. He hadn’t visited Sherlocks flat in what felt like forever, and he was afraid at how it would look. Had it changed when Sherlock returned? Or would it be just as he remembered?

Not wanting to stand at the door any longer, he lifted his hand and knocked.

He heard a faint voice on the other side.

“Come in.”

John turned the doorknob and stepped in, straining his eyes to look in the flat. It was almost completely dark, save for a single candle on a coffee stand near an armchair. He closed the door behind him and began taking off his shoes.

“John?”

John turned his attention to the armchair. He saw Sherlock sitting in it, holding his violin. Music sheets and pencils were strewn around him, notes and titles crossed out on each one. The two stared at each other for a moment, an awkward silence blanketing above them. Sherlock was the first to clear his throat and stand up, cleaning up the papers and pencils around him. He turned back to John, holding the papers in a messy pile in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect any visitors today.” He said, placing the stack of papers on his desk.

 _Neither did I_ John thought to himself.

“May I turn on the lights?” He asked, turning to Sherlock and walking over to the lightswitch. Sherlock nodded and John flicked them on.

The whole room instantly lit up, and John gasped. There were fairy lights and gold tinsel strung neatly around the fireplace and the bookshelves, embellished with small poinsettia flowers and holly leaves. Stockings were hung above the fireplace, each one with a different design and a small white cotton ball on the toe. Both armchairs were decorated too, small ornaments and holly branches hanging off the sides. John’s in particular was well decorated, making it seem as if Sherlock put a lot of time into it. Even Sherlock himself looked festive in a blue holiday sweater. The only thing that was left alone was the Christmas tree.

“Did you decorate all of this?” Asked John in awe, marveling at the brightness.

“I did.” Answered Sherlock, cracking a small grin. “I may be a detective, but I enjoy interior design.”

Sherlock pointed to John’s armchair, and John sat down in it. Sherlock walked into the kitchen and began boiling water in a kettle for tea. While he did that John continued to stare at the bare pine tree. There was nothing above or below it, and he was wondering why. Had Sherlock left it alone on purpose? But that wouldn’t explain why he had decorated everything but the most important part. John shook his head slightly, confused. 

The teapot began to whistle and soon Sherlock emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with two teacups and sugar cubes. He slid the coffee table in between them with his foot and placed the tray on it, sitting down in the arm chair across from John. They both reached for their teacups at the same time and began sipping.

“So,” Sherlock began, holding his teacup in front of his nose. “Why have you come, John? I thought you and Mary were hosting a party.”

John paused sipping his tea. He stopped himself from telling Sherlock that Mary made him come, and instead decided to say he wanted to visit Sherlock.

“I didn’t want you to be alone, on Christmas Eve especially.” He said, taking another sip of his tea. Sherlock nodded and smiled.

“Thank you.”

John kept glancing at the bare tree in the corner. Sherlock noticed and looked back too, taking in the green pines standing out in the midst of gold and red.

“I know you’re wondering why I didn’t dress the tree,” He started, turning around to look at John. “There’s no particular reason. I was actually going to decorate it today with Mrs. Hudson, but she left before we could get around to it.”

John stared at it thoughtfully for a moment before putting down his teacup and standing up.

“I’ll help you decorate it, then. Mrs. Hudson might not be around for a while. 

Sherlock looked up at John in surprise, but put down his tea cup and stood up as well. He walked over and pulled out a cardboard box from underneath his desk and blew on the dust gathering on it. He picked it up and placed it in front of the tree, opening the top to reveal small red, blue, yellow, silver, and green ornaments. He picked up a few and began placing them on the tree in random places. John bent down and started doing the same, decorating the tree from the bottom. Suddenly Sherlock turned around and walked over to the fireplace, pressing a button on the radio set. Soft holiday music filled the room, and Sherlock went back to decorating the tree, swaying gently to the beat.

John looked up at him in curiosity. He’d never seen Sherlock dance before, aside from the time he had to teach him how to waltz for his wedding. It suited him, in a way. He looked peaceful as he hung another ornament on the branch. 

Not being able to hold back, John began to dance too, reaching on his toes to decorate the top of the tree. Sherlock noticed this and smirked. He reached over and turned up the music. 

The two of them began dancing more boldly. Sherlock was spinning while he placed a small angel in between a clump of branches. John laughed, amused by Sherlocks surprising grace. For such a stoic man, he knew how to move on his feet.

All of a sudden John felt his arm being grabbed and he was spun around too, almost dropping an ornament on the ground.

“Sherlock, what-”

“It’s Christmas Eve, John. Let’s have some fun.”

John looked up at Sherlock in confusion.

“People will definitely talk if they see us…”

Sherlock let out a brisk laugh.

“John, there’s nobody here but you and I. We can dance freely.”

Without warning, Sherlock led John to the middle of the flat and began dancing. Sherlock pretended to curtsey, which made John laugh. He still didn’t move, but rather watched how Sherlock waltzed around with an imaginary partner. The music filled his ears and before he knew it, he was dancing with Sherlock. His feet seemed to move themselves towards him, and his arms found their way on Sherlock’s back. They danced and laughed until the song finished, and pulled away looking at each other.

Sherlock smiled and reached under his desk one more time, pulling out a neatly wrapped box with a small card labeled ‘For: John Watson’. He walked over and handed it to John.

“I got you a gift, but wasn’t sure when, or even if, I should’ve given it to you.” He paused. “Thank you for being with me tonight, John.”

John took the from Sherlock and turned it over, rubbing the card between his fingers. He smiled back set it down on his arm chair, walking over to Sherlock. He placed his arms around his torso and pressed his cheek to Sherlock’s chest.

“Of course. Merry Christmas, Sherlock.”

Sherlock hesitated before hugging John back.

“Merry Christmas, John.”

**Author's Note:**

> Woo, you got to the end! I really hope you enjoyed this short one shot. The holiday's had me feeling fluffy and I needed to write something cute; so naturally, I chose Sherlock and John ;). As the reader, this is totally up to you to decide if you wanted to view this as romantic or platonic! I wrote it so that it could satisfy both :). 
> 
> Please leave Kudos and comments if you enjoyed! I'd really appreciate it <3
> 
> And of course, Happy Holidays to all!
> 
> (Quick disclaimer that these characters are not mine. They were originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and developed by BBC.)


End file.
